Upper School Curriculum | Oakbrook Preparatory School

UPPER SCHOOL CURRICULUM

Curriculum

Click here for a complete 2022-2023 Curriculum Guide 


AP Placement Offerings: English Language, English Literature, Spanish Language, German Language, Statistics, Calculus AB, Calculus BC, Chemistry, Biology, Physics 1, US History, World History, US Government & Politics, Psychology, Microeconomics, Human Geography, AP Computer Science Principles, AP Computer Science A, Studio Art, Art History, Music Theory, Seminar, and Research.


Senior Project/Capstone Program: Each year a graduation requirement of seniors at Oakbrook is to complete a Capstone Program consisting or either a Senior Project or an Independent Research Paper. The student-created Senior Project is pre-approved by an administrative committee and is designed to create either a service or a product. It involves exploration, independent research, project management, mentorship and an oral defense. Projects demonstrate engagement with such 21st Century Skills as creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, time management, leadership, communication and research. As an independent study the Senior Project process is as important as the finished product or service. Over the past five years Senior Projects have included such projects as establishing international mission trips, writing a book, creating events for underserved populations, raising money for orphanages, starting a business, and composing original music.

Students that take AP Seminar their Junior year may choose to complete the AP Capstone Diploma Program. The AP Capstone program gives students the chance to tackle the type of in-depth, long-term research assignments that are typically completed in college. This program cultivates the skills and disciplines necessary to conduct independent research and inquiry in order to produce and defend their scholarly work. The end product is a 4000-5000 year-long research paper accompanied by an oral defense. Students may choose their area of research and have completed research on subjects like waste-water testing, analyzing water purification systems in Spartanburg, and the effects of the opioid crisis in South Carolina. 

College Connect: Students meet with an adviser once each week to determine career interests, speak with college representatives, receive guidance in the college application process, learn of available scholarships, and other activities designed to ensure the students’ college success.

SCOIR: SCOIR, a website for students and families, provides access to online resources, communication tools and college and career collaborative activities.

Graduation Requirement Guidelines

Oakbrook requirements for high school graduation exceed the South Carolina requirements by an additional 2.5 Carnegie units. Take a look at our specifics here!

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Christian Education

As a non-denominational Christian school, Oakbrook has the unique opportunity to help our students discover what it means to live by faith. We believe that education cannot be divided into spiritual and secular components, but that all truth is God’s truth.

Chapel: Each weekly chapel service is a time to worship through music and a message from a speaker. Speakers get their inspiration from our yearly themes.

Christian Studies Courses: Upper School students are required to earn one full credit before graduation. Students can choose from a variety of courses to complete the requirement.

Devotion: Students begin their morning with a devotion and prayer in homeroom

Discipleship Groups: Upper School students participate in small groups each month. The groups are divided by grade and gender to provide opportunities for students to share and support one another. The groups meet monthly and are led by and Oakbrook staff member.

College Planning

At Oakbrook, “preparatory” is not just a part of our name – it is an integral part of our mission. Our goal is to place our graduates in their school of choice. Learn more about Graduation Requirements, Grading Scale and College Planning at Oakbrook.

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Your Questions Answered

With an average SAT score of 1382 for the top 25% of the class and a top score of 1540 (1232 average for entire class) for the Class of 2020, Oakbrook Preparatory’s average scores are well above the local, state and national averages.

All Oakbrook graduates are accepted to a four-year college or university, so the answer is 100%. The 43 members of the Class of 2018 were accepted to 50 different colleges and universities and are attending 14 different schools in 8 states. In addition, most of the graduates received a merit-based scholarship, garnering $2.5 million in scholarship offers.

The types of colleges that our alumni attend are as varied as the alumni themselves. Graduates have been accepted and attend Ivy League schools such as Princeton as well as other top-ranked universities such as Georgetown, American, Duke, UPenn, UNC-Chapel Hill, and Ringling College of Art & Design. While many graduates attend the fine public institutions in our state, such as Clemson and USC, they also attend leading out-of-state schools like Westmont, Davidson, Moody Bible Institute, Belmont, University of Tennessee, Wheaton, and William and Mary to name a few.

Yes, with our Advanced Placement program that gives students the opportunity to take a nationally standardized test to receive college credit. Oakbrook Preparatory offers over 20 courses in which students may take the AP Exam, more than any school in the area. Thirty Three of the 42 members of the Class of 2019 passed 141 AP Exams over their years at Oakbrook, earning a total of 423 college credit hours. Seventy two percent of Oakbrook Preparatory students passed at least one exam in 2019, well above the global passing rate of 60%. This shows that a Oakbrook Preparatory education is an investment with a tangible return.

The Class of 2019 included

  • 5 SC Palmetto Fellow scholars
  • 30 SC Life scholars
  • 7 SC Hope Scholars .
  • 3 NCAA college athletes.
  • 5 Honors College students
  • 1 Morehead Cain Scholar
  • 1 National Merit Scholar
  • 7 AP Scholars
  • 1 AP Scholar with Honor
  • 4 AP Scholars with Distinction
  • 1 National AP Scholar
  • 1 USC Top Scholar